Painting apparatus.



Patented- My l, [902.

C; L. BAUER. PAINTING APPARATUS. (A umion filed m. 16, 1901.

2 Shaats-Shoat L (No Model.)

VIII/1111111111 THE Nonms FETEH co, PMQTO-uwq, WASHlNGYON u, c.

No. 703,370. Patented July I, 1902.

' C. L. BAUER.

PAINTING APPARATUS.

(Application Bled Mar. 16, 1901.)

' 2 Shuts- Sheet 2.

WITNESSES:

' ATTORNEY n1: NORRIS PETERS cu. woroumo. WASHINGTON, uv c UNITEDSTATES- PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES L. BAUER, OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE WARDER, BUSHNELL& GLESSNER OO., OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

PAINTING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 703,370, dated July 1,1902.

Serial No. 51477. (No model.)

To all whont it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES L. BAUER, a citizen of theUnitedStates,residing at Sprin gfield, in the county of Clark and State ofOhio,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Painting Apparatus,of which the following is a specification, reference being had thereinto the accompanying drawlngs.

This invention relates to improvements in painting apparatus, and moreparticularly to that class of apparatus in which the article to betreated is coated by a dipping process, which consists, essentially, insubmerging the article in a tank or vat containing the paint.

Apparatus of this character is now in use comprising an overhead trackor way, independent trolley-carriers traveling thereon, from which thearticles to be painted are suspended, an elevator comprising,preferably, a vertically-movable section of the track or way, and acounterpoise adapted to counterbalance the weight of the article, sothat it may be readily depressed, so as to cause it to @5- be submergedin the liquid paint in the tank.

In practice it has been found that as the article is gradually submergedinthe liquid its effective weight, acting in opposition to thecounterpoise, is correspondingly diminished, 0 so that an increasedamount of power is required to further depress the article and cause itscomplete submergence. Moreover, where the counterpoise is in the natureof a spring the resistance thereof to the depression of the article is aconstantly-increasing one and is at its maximum at the time when thegreatest force is required to complete the submergin g. To overcomethese difficulties and provide an apparatus whereby a single attendantmay 0 readily and completely submerge an article of any size within thecapacity of the apparatus without requiring an increase of effort at theend of the operation or the help of other workmen is the object of mypresent invention; and to those ends the invention consists in certainnovel features, which I will now proceed to describe and will thenpar-,4 ticularly point out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation, partly invertical section, of an apparatus embodying my invention in one form.Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same,taken on the line 00 0aof Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrow; Fig. 3 is an edgeview of the compensating device in its preferred form. Fig. 4 is a sideelevation of the same, and Fig. 5 is a View illus trating amodification.

The apparatus in its preferred form comprises an elevated way or track1, suspended by hangers 2 from the ceiling 3 or otherwise suitablysupported. Carriers or trolleys 4 are adapted to travel on this trackand support the articles to be treated, one of which is indicated indotted lines at 5.

6 indicates the dipping-tank,containing the paint or other material withwhich it is desired to coat the articles, said tank being located at asuitable point underneath the track or way and being provided with adrippingtable 7 adjacent thereto, over which the articles pass afterhaving been dipped.

In connection with the overhead way and carriers and the dipping-tank Iemploy an elevator 8 of any suitable construction, the same preferablycomprising a movable section 9 of the track, adapted to receive andraise and lower the carriers and provided with'a yoke 10, by means ofwhich the counterpoise may be connected therewith.

In connection with the elevator a counterpoise is employed, which ispreferably adjustable and which may consist of a suitably-coiledspringll, as shown in Fig. 1, or a weight 12, as shown in Fig. 5.Referring first to the particular construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2,one end of the spring llis connected to an adjusting or tension device13, while the other end has a flexible connection 14, which passesaround guide wheels or pulleys 15, its end being secured to acompensating device 16. lhis compensating device in its preferred formcomprises a cam-wheell7 and a circular wheel 18, mounted so as to move.in unison on a common shaft 19. The cam-wheel 17 has a peripheralportion, 20, which iss'piral or of a gradually-decreasing radius fromits initial point (indicated at 21) for about threequarters of itscircumference to a point indicated at 22, which is the point of minimumradius, the remainder of the periphery between the points 22 and 21being substam tially straight or flat, as indicated at 23.

The flexible connection or rope 14 is secured y in Fig. 5.

to the cam-wheel 17 at 24 adjacent to the point of maximum radius, andsaid flexible connection passes thence to the point of maximum radiusand to the counterpoise, the periphery of the cam-wheel being grooved,as indicated at 25, to receive the said rope and hold it in position onthe wheel. The circular wheel 18 has a similarly-grooved periphery, asindicated at 26, and there is secured to said wheel at a point in linewith the attachment of the rope 14 a second rope or flexible connection27, which lies within the grooved periphery of the wheel and extendsthence downward to the yoke 10 of the elevator.

It will be observed that when the elevator is in its raised or normalposition the counterpoise has the advantage of a maximum leveragethrough its flexible connection with the compensating device. As theattendant depresses by hand the article to be treated, thereby loweringit and the elevator, the leverage of the counterpoising-spring upon thecompensating device decreases proportionately, so as to neutralize theincreased resistance of the spring as it stretches. The leveragedecreases to a minimum and remains such during the submergence of thearticle, at which time the spring is exerting its pull with the leveragerepresented by the minimum radius of the cam-wheel and the flat portionadjacent thereto. By reason of this fact the attendant does not meetwith a constantly-increasing resistance to his efforts to submerge thearticle, and practically the same amount of force is required throughoutthe entire vertical range of movement of the article from the start ofthe downward motion to its complete submergence and subsequently to itsreturn to its normal or elevated position.

It will be understood, of course, that in apparatus of this characterthe suspended articles are successively carried along the track to theelevator, then lowered or dipped into the paint-tank, and then againraised and forwarded along the continuation of the track, the drip-tablereceiving the excess of paint after the article leaves the tank.

It is obvious that instead of a spring a counterweight may be employedas a coun terpoise to the elevator and article, as shown Where thisconstruction is employed, the counterpoise does not offer aconstantly-increasing resistance to the depression of the article, andthe spiral portion of the cam-wheel may be dispensed with or modifiedaccordingly. One essential feature of my invention, however, whether thespiral be present in the form shown or a modified form or whether it beabsent, as in the construction shown in Fig. 5, is the cutting away orflattoning of a portion of the cam-wheel17,whereby when the articlebeing dipped is immersed in the liquid the upward strain exerted by thecounterpoise will be correspondingly reduced,

so as to obviate the necessity of extra exertion to hold the article inthe paint or other coloring liquid in the tank. For it will beunderstood that this cut-away or flattened portion is so located thatwhen the article is submerged the pull of the counterpoise is exertedacross the cut-away portion and with a reduced leverage, as will bereadily understood. It will be understood, of course, that in eithercase the counterpoise may be adj usted to the weight of the article andelevator, and in the case of the construction employing a spring I haveshown an adjusting mechanism which consists of a Windlass, to which oneend of the spring is connected by a suitable flexible connection. In thecase where a weight is employed the same may be added'to or diminishedin order to adjust the counterpoise to the article.

The form of the compensating device may obviously be varied withoutdeparting from the principle of my invention-as, for instance, by theemployment of forms other than wheels for the attachment of the flexibleconnection. I therefore do not wish to be understood as limiting myselfto the precise details of construction hereinbefore set forth and shownin the drawings.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a painting apparatus, the combina= tion,with a dipping-tank, of anelevator above the same to support the article to be treated, acounterpoise, anda compensating device interposed between thecounterpoise and elevator for regulating the action of the counterpoiserelatively to the elevator and the arti cle supported thereby,substantially as de* scribed.

' 2. In a painting apparatus, the combina= tion, with a dipping-tank, anoverhead track or way, and carriers traveling thereon and adapted tohave the articles to be painted suspended therefrom, of an elevatorcomprising a separable section of the track or way, adapted to receive acarrier when in alinement with the remainder of the track and supportsaid carrier during the vertical travel of the elevator, a counterpoise,and a compensating device interposed between said counterpoise andelevator and adapted to regulate the resistance of said counterpoise tothe depression of the elevator, substantially as described.

3. In a painting apparatus, the combination, with a dipping-tank, of anelevator located above the same and adapted to receive and support thearticles to be treated, a counterpoise, and a compensating devicecomprising two members, one flexibly connected with the elevator and theother flexibly connected with the counterpoise, and adapted to regulatethe resistance of the counterpoise to the movement of the elevator,substantially as described.

4:. In a painting apparatus, the combina- IIG stantially as described.

5. In a painting apparatus, the combination, with a dipping-tank and anelevator located above the same and adapted to receive and support thearticles to be treated, of a counterpoise comprising a spring ofincreasing resistance, and a compensating device consisting of twomembers moving in unison, one of said members being a wheel or drumcircular in form and having a flexible connection with the elevator, andthe other of said members having a spiral periphery of decreasing radiusand an interposed straight or fiat portion and flexibly connected withthe counterpoise-spring, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES L. BAUER.

Witnesses:

ASA S. BUSHNELL, W. H. GUTHRIE.

